California Apparel News

LAS VEGAS—MAGIC made a bigger gambit for the business of the burgeoning skate and streetwear market when it introduced a new look and layout for its Street and S.L.A.T.E. sections, located on the second floor of the Mandalay Bay Convention Center.

The skate ramp returned to the show, located at the back of the hall, where skateboarders crowded in, eager to try new tricks. New this season was a Blogger Lounge and PROJECT 10, where emerging brands exhibited new product for the streetwear market.

However, many S.L.A.T.E. vendors critiqued show producers for a poor layout and lax organization. Allen Doan, president of Irvine, Calif.–based Orisue Clothing, said that show producers delivered his brand’s booth with the outside graphics placed on the wrong section of his booth.  His staff corrected the mistake, but it ended up spending energy that could have been better placed somewhere else.  “Overall, the show was good, but there was a lack of attention to detail,” Doan said.

Scott Sasso, owner and designer of Brooklyn, N.Y.–based brand 10 Deep, thought  S.L.A.T.E.’s attendee traffic seemed slower. He believed the show could have been affected by a crowded trade show calendar and retailers choosing not to travel.

“There are good alternative shows, and there is the Internet. I wonder if they will take away from the importance of this show,” he asked.

If S.L.A.T.E. vendors were mostly established youthful fashion brands such as L-R-G, Stussy, Alife and Diamond Supply Co., the Street section ended up as being a place for new brands to take a bow.

It was the wholesale debut of Party Rock, a nightclub-wear collection designed by Redfoo of chart-topping club music act LMFAO. The Black Flys eyewear brand, which shot to initial prominence in the mid-1990s, sought to make a comeback at Street. Black Flys founder Jack Martinez quietly announced at the show that he would be leading the company again after selling it more than five years ago. He said his market responded positively to his purchasing his brand for an undisclosed amount. He reported that he scheduled back-to-back meetings and opened more than 40 doors at the show.

Veteran motorcycle-jacket designer Johnny Lucero debuted his licensed line of biker jackets licensed with the “Sons of Anarchy” cable show at Street.

“I’ve been in business in 22 years. This is the best show ever because of the ‘Sons of Anarchy,’” Lucero said.

At last February’s Street show, the Santa Ana, Calif.–based designer exhibited his veteran Piston Clothing brand. With his Sons of Anarchy outerwear label, he forecast that sales went up 10 times compared with the Feb. 2011 show, due to walk -in traffic from retailers such as Hot Topic and Spencer’s.

Most vendors were glad to get on buyers’ radar screens, said Matt Mayo, a sales representative for Hated, a tattoo-inspired line T-shirt and hoodie line based in Long Beach, Calif.

 “It would be great to get a few big accounts. That’s the big goal.  But the most important thing is to get your name out there. Big goals and small—we’ll take them all,” Mayo said.

Los Angeles–based X-Large used the S.L.A.T.E. show to reintroduce the streetwear brand. The booth was located in the middle of the show, and Paul Wood, the label’s design director, considered show production to be good. “We talked to retailers who thought we weren’t around anymore. There was a lot of goodwill for the brand,” Wood said.

Andrew Pollard, executive vice president of MAGIC and president of Project, said he began working on S.L.A.T.E. in October and wanted to put more focus on product and make it easier for retailers to navigate.

“We need to communicate and ultimately look at it as a large store and help retailers find new product,” he said.

Pollard acknowledged the problems at the show and promised improvements at future shows.

“We’re always evolving,” he said. “This is the starting point. With Tom Florio joining the company [as chief executive officer], we’re putting the team together; we’re adapting ourselves to be a more modern company. You will see more radical changes in the marketplace over the next coming seasons.”—Andrew Asch